NATA Announces Changes to Board of Directors

On June 18^th at its Annual Meeting and Aviation Business Conference, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) announced changes to its Board of Directors. Curt Castagna, President and CEO of Aeroplex/Aerolease Group (Long Beach, CA), has been named as the new Board Chair. Clive Lowe, the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Atlantic Aviation (Arlington, VA) was appointed as Vice Chair. 

Four Members also left the Board after their terms came to an end last week. Clara Bennett, the Executive Director of the Boca Raton Airport, has served on the Board for two terms, beginning in April of 2013. Andy Priester, President & CEO of Priester Aviation, has also served on the Board since April of 2013, additionally as Chairperson from June 2015 to June 2016. Christian Sasfai, former COO and Vice President of TAC Air, served on the Board for one term beginning in June 2016. And finally, Greg Schmidt, President and CEO of Pentastar Aviation, completed his time on the NATA Board after joining in April of 2017 and serving as Chairperson from June 2017 to June 2018. 

NATA President Gary Dempsey stated, “we are very grateful to the leadership and expertise Clara, Andy, Christian, and Greg have given to this Association over the past years. Their guidance led NATA into a period of exciting growth and positive change. It has been my pleasure to work with them in my capacities both as a former Board Member and as NATA President.” 

Newly appointed to the Board for a term of three years are Donald Haloburdo, Senior Vice President of Flight Services at Jet Aviation; Chris Rozansky, Executive Director of the Naples Airport Authority; and Megan Wolf, Chief Operating Officer of Flexjet, LLC. Their bios and headshots are available at the bottom of this release.

“NATA is excited to bring in these new perspectives to the Bboard, which provide a well-rounded representation of the many facets of the general aviation community. We strive to strike a balance between the different types of businesses comprising this industry and are eager to see what we can achieve moving forward together. Under the new leadership of Curt Castagna and Clive Lowe, I expect the Association to continue to prosper, provide leadership and effect positive change for our members and the general aviation industry at large as we approach our 80^th year of service,” Dempsey concluded.

For the full list of NATA’s Board of Directors, please click here.

	Don Haloburdo – Senior Vice President of Flight Services | Jet Aviation (Teterboro, NJ) Don Haloburdo, 35-year aviation veteran and former U.S. Naval Aviator, was appointed Vice President and General Manager of Jet Aviation’s U.S. aircraft management and charter services in 2011. In his current role as Senior Vice President of Flight Services, he is responsible for all aspects of Jet Aviation’s part 91 and Part 135 fleet comprised of 170 aircraft. Prior to his current role, Haloburdo held various managerial positions within the organization serving as Gulfstream captain, chief pilot and vice president of flight operations. Haloburdo has more than 7,100 hours of flight time and has flown more than 2,000 incident/accident free hours as captain in Gulfstream aircraft. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University and serves on the National Air Transportation Association Air Charter Committee. Under Haloburdo’s leadership, a team of close to 600 employees helped him significantly grow Jet Aviation’s U.S. aircraft management and charter fleet from 71 to 170 aircraft over the past 7 years.
	Chris Rozansky – Executive Director | Naples Airport Authority (Naples, FL) Chris Rozansky joined the City of Naples Airport Authority in March 2016. Over the past 19 years, he has served in various positions at both commercial service and general aviation airports in Florida, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Chris was introduced to aviation through the Civil Air Patrol and graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in aviation management. He has overseen more than $100 million in airport improvements, led numerous strategic initiatives and worked extensively with the communities surrounding each airport. In 2017, both Gulfshore Business Magazine and the Business Observer selected Chris as a 40 Under 40 honoree, Previously, the Florida Department of Transportation named Chris 2012 Aviation Professional of the Year and Airport Business Magazine named him among the 2012 Top 40 Under 40 in the industry. He is a Certified Member of the American Association of Airport Executives, serves as a Vice Chair of AAAE’s General Aviation Committee and is also Chair of the General Aviation Committee for the Florida Airports Council. As Executive Director of the Naples Airport Authority, Chris manages a dynamic community asset with an operating and capital budget of nearly $43 million, more than 80 employees and generates an economic impact of $283.5 million annually.
	Megan Wolf – Chief Operations Officer | Flexjet, LLC. (Cleveland, OH) With 18 years in business aviation, Megan Wolf has led innovation in nearly every area of the business, holding leadership positions in Owner Services, Operations Planning, Sales and Owner Experience. She started her career in 1999 at Raytheon Travel Air, and then joined the Flight Options team after the 2002 merger. After Directional Aviation acquired Flexjet in 2014, Wolf was tapped to lead Owner Services as Vice President. In that role, she created the Delivering Excellence service program and stood up the private terminals program. In 2018, she was elevated to Chief Operations Officer and united all the service delivery teams including the Operations and Control Center, Flight Department and Owner Experience. She has served committee leadership roles at the National Air Transportation Association and has been a featured panelist representing Flexjet at the International Aviation Women’s Association.

Click here to view the full list of the NATA Board of Directors.